Guilty Pleas Case Study

There are sometimes conditions of bail, such as a bond, reporting to the police on a regular basis, restrictions on where the accused can go and whom they can see, and they may have to give up their passport. Bail laws create tension between the community interests and individuals’ rights and freedoms, as often certain members of the community do not deem the individual worthy of bail. This is evident through R V Silva [2014] NSWSC 148, where the accused was granted bail despite being accused of manslaughter. The government has attempted to relieve this tension by reform to the Bail Act 1978 (NSW), which enforced the Unacceptable Risk Test, preventing more serious offenders from being released on bail. The government relieves tension concerning bail laws by enacting law reform to protect society, however, this can restrict the rights and freedoms of individuals who are

In Section 4 of the Bail Act 1978, it states that ‘authorisation to be at liberty under this Act, instead of in custody’ . This is otherwise known as bail, the act of permitting a person to a brief period of freedom who

This essay will explore how prosecutorial misconduct causes wrongful convictions in both the United States and Australia. This essay will also argue that rehabilitation and compensation should be provided by the state. A major flaw in the criminal justice system not only in the United States but also in Australia, is the failure to set forth a plan for the people who were exonerated to be accepted back into society. The lack of a plan for rehabilitation for the exonerated poses a problem for society since some might find it easier to find a job in prison then in the real world, this process makes it immensely difficult for prisoners to get acclimated back into society. The Australian Law Review Committee is an entity which evaluates and gives

“The advantages, gamesmanship, and leverage that account for a plea bargain override an honest and fair assessment of truth” (Strutin, 2013). This statement is painfully accurate. Yale Law Journal (1972) states that “the elimination of the maximum number of trials” is the purpose of the plea bargain. Plea bargains are a largely a result of a need for speed and efficiency in the courts. “However, efficiency comes at a significant cost: innocent defendants are induced to plead guilty” (Gilchrist, 2011). In many, cases plea bargains are too efficient. “These wrongful convictions not only harm the innocent persons who plead guilty; they undermine the reliability of all convictions” (Gilchrist, 2011). This brings controversy over all plea bargains .Speed and efficiency should never be placed over reaching the correct verdict. All that is needed for a plea bargain is admission from the defendant; however, a defendant cannot convict themselves with a testimony in trial. This practice illustrates the controversy of plea bargains as compared to more reliable trials. Plea bargains allow for defendants to be coerced into giving false admissions of guilt. Additionally, defendants are confused by their emotions during the plea bargain process.

During criminal cases, many prosecutors and attorneys struggle with trying to prove whether or not the defendant committed the crime. Is there such a way to legally coerce the defendant to confess to his or her crime? Enter the plea bargain. A plea bargain occurs when a defendant agrees to plea guilty in exchange for a reduction of charges and a lighter sentence than what the crime usually carries. Most people may see plea bargains as a boon to the defendant, but may end up hurting the defendant. The courts always benefit from plea bargains either way, but the defendant must still answer for their crimes.

How can you tell if someone is a criminal? Well you can tell by their behavior towards the situation. If they show no emotion. If they have a motive or an alibi. If someone has all of these traits you can bet you have a criminal. It seems that Lizzie Borden committed these sick and twisted crimes due to her anger, time of day, and the evidence.

The administration of criminal justice and the operation of criminal process play an important role in our ever-changing society. The current structure of the New South Wales criminal justice system, as described by leading critic Doreen McBarnet as the ‘two tiers of justice’, has attracted many critiques namely the ideology of triviality, summary offence punishment and other legal notions such as technocratic justice. I have applied the above concepts during the course of my observation to Local, District and Supreme Courts of New South Wales in April 2016. The following report will assess the validity of the above concepts at a practical level in light with my observation and research, drawing intrinsic links between two tiers of justice and technocratic justice, and concluding with the two tiers of justice as a necessary framework in our modern criminal justice system.

However, not all cases receive the luxury we call justice. Many cases have been turned over and neglected, leaving individuals who patiently await their trial date deprived of justice. Injustice in the judicial system has been an apparent problem for decades. Every case has to be viewed in an unbiased perspective with a sufficient amount of evidence. If these conditions are not met, the possibility for injustice increases drastically.

Plea-bargaining is known as a practice of negotiation where the prosecutor makes certain sacrifices and gives a lesser charge or sentence to the defendant in exchange for a guilty plea. Plea-bargains are done out of court, when one side begins to arrange a potential plea bargain. However the plea bargain does not go through until both the prosecuting side and the defense agree on it (Unconstitutionality). After both sides come to an agreement the plea bargain is brought before the judge, however the judge does not have to follow the prosecutor’s proposal. Some plea bargains may have to get the approval of the court before being upheld (Unconstitutionality). In plea bargains the defendants can plead guilty to some or all of the charges that

We hear in the news about police misconduct, use of excessive force, embezzlement, but one thing I found while researching what I should write this paper on is the Wrongful convictions of innocent men and women, that spend years in prison being innocent, and there is nothing that gets done till it’s too late. Some wrongful convictions are honest mistakes, but many times law enforcement and prosecutors lose sight of the obligation of ensuring truth and justice, and are focused on their conviction rates. As with any job, they are honest people and ones that just don’t care and are corrupt, this exists in the criminal justice system. One way to prove someone is innocent now is through DNA testing, but even at all levels of a criminal investigation there could be misconduct or mishandling of evidence, which then causes the evidence to become compromised.

However, under further analysis, it becomes apparent that the verdict acts more as a deterrent rather than an upstanding legal configuration. The legal system, for the average person in New South Wales, is only a figure of authority that deters the individuals from breaking the law, which some may say is what it is there to do. Conversely, we need it to do more than that, we need it to properly meet our requests when we are involved in legal

A plea bargain (“offer”) is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecuting agency may offer the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a proposal of a lighter than the maximum sentence. This opportunity allows defendants to avoid the risk of a conviction at trial on a more serious charge. This also allows all involved parties to keep the court’s calendars light without exhausting resources of a court, potential public defenders, and prosecutors who are all salaried for by the expense of tax payers. If every case in the criminal justice system went to trial, the courts would be so overloaded that they would effectively be shut down.

This journal focuses on the aims of criminal justice system in delivering quality service to the community through public safety enhancement. The author has highlighte some of the measures and steps the system has taken to ensure it achieves its objectives and interaction with various parties. These parties include; victims, witnesses, the accused and criminal justice professionals.

Although rationality does not always exist, much of the functioning of criminal justice agencies is unplanned, poorly coordinated, and unregulated. Existing systems include some components that are very ancient, additionally each of the institutions have their own set of goals and priorities that sometimes conflict with those of other institutions, or with the goals and priorities of the system as a whole. Furthermore, each of these institutions have substantial unregulated discretion in making particular decisions such as the victim's decision to report a crime (Frase & Weidner).

“It’s a general problem not specific to the law of the United Kingdom a criminal justice system characterized by an emphasis on crime control rather than due process will inevitably produce miscarriage of justice.”